Listening With
The HeartThe work of Frank Big Bear, George Morrison and Norval
Morrisseauat the Fredrick R. Weisman Art Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota

September 9th - December 31st, 2000

This exhibition presents the work of three
contemporary artists who share an approach to their work. Todd Bockley, a Minneapolis
artist and independent curator, organized the exhibition and Glen Hanson, a Minneapolis
writer, expressed the exhibition in text. You are invited to experience these works of art
by "listening with the heart," because that approach is what unites the artists.
You are urged to forgo words of explanation about the art and instead enter into a
conversation with the work.

Excerpt from exhibition text -

"The experience of listening with the heart cannot be captured in
words. The heart has it's own way of knowing. It must experience something to know it. The
heart cannot be convinced by words alone; the heart must understand. Words can explain the
work, but explanation can tell us only how the work is similar to, different from, typical
of..... Explanation leaves the work itself mute. Understanding, gained through listening
with the heart, allows the art to speak to us."

The exhibition is housed in the
Franklin R. Weisman Art Museum on the campus of the University Of Minnesota in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Museum is nestled on the banks of the Mississippi river in an
extraordinary building designed by architect Frank Gehry.

Some thoughts, stories and
experiences from our trip to the opening of the exhibition
by Bryant Ross - director of Coghlan Art

It was my honor to be invited by
my friend and mentor, Norval Morrisseau, to accompany him on his journey to the opening
reception of the exhibition "Listening With the Heart." Norval is facing the challenge of life with Parkinson's disease and does not travel as much as he used
to, but because of the effort of the shows curator, Todd Bockley, to include him in the
planning for the show while still in the conceptual phase he felt he had to make the extra
effort himself to attend.

This story was related to me by
Norval as we were flying into Minneapolis...
Norval said, "Along time ago, maybe two or three hundred years ago, before white men
were around, some people were worried about what was going to happen....so they went to
talk to a shaman. They asked him if he could find out. The shaman went to a sacred place
and started singing and drumming. He beat on his drum harder and harder until he jumped
right out of his body and began to rise up in his consciousness. He went up to the third
astral plane where he could fly through time. He flew through time until he reached the
year 2000 and then came down to look around. Below him he could see hundreds,
thousands...more than he could count...millions of ants travelling down well traveled
trails...and mountains sticking out of the plains like giant ice crystals, reflecting the
sun back into his face. When he returned to his own time he told the people about what he
had seen. He told them that what ever these creatures were, there was lots of them and
they were coming."
I couldn't resist to ask, "Did the shaman see any further into the future?"
"Maybe" he replied.

The Show consists of work by three artists that have managed to break down
the barriers of ethnic and cultural labels. Their work has roots in native traditions, but
speaks to everyone in a very contemporary way that when listened to with openness can
certainly reach the heart.

The pieces included in the show by Norval Morrisseau
are strong and vibrant and are perhaps some of his finest. To see the six panel
"Shaman Transforms into Thunderbird" was a highlight for me. It is a painting
that seems to lift me from my earthly bonds, opening up my imagination and leaves me with
a need to create. It is inspirational.

The opening was attended by many people. Some were
familiar with Norval's work and to some it was new. There were young people that were
moved to laugh and older people that were moved to cry, children, in their innocence, that
could not resist touching the textured canvas and other artists that were there to pay
homage to the man and his creations.

Towards the end of the evening a man
entered the room where Norval's paintings are hung. He had obviously been in an accident
as both his legs were in casts and he had a neck brace on. He was laying on a wheelchair
that was like a bed on wheels that he could maneuver on his own. He traveled around the
room looking at the paintings and as he left a young boy, perhaps ten or eleven years old
came into the room on a motorized wheelchair and approached Norval. They talked for awhile
and the boy left. "I wonder what that means" said Norval.

Later that evening back in our hotel
room Norval told me a story. "Years ago I was walking down the street in Winnipeg
feeling sorry for myself. A man was walking towards me, He had long hair and a leather
jacket, and as we meet he said,"Things are not as bad as we think". I looked
away for a second and when I looked back he was gone. I never saw that man again."

Norval in front of Shaman Transforms into Thunderbird

Norval with the curator, Todd Bockley

Norval with the museum director, Lyndel King

This text is the intellectual property of Coghlan Art and the
artist.Use of this text is prohibited under Canadian copyright except by permission.